MOSCOW, October 22 /TASS/. The Islamic State leaders are redeploying reinforcement units from Syria’s Raqqa province and Iraq’s territory to western Syria, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Thursday.

"Our unmanned aerial vehicles are fixing a considerable increase in the number of new IS targets in Syrian territory. The IS leadership is redeploying personnel reinforcement from Raqqa province and Iraq’s territory to the area of military hostilities in the west of Syria," Konashenkov said in an interview on Rossiya 1 television channel.

Russia started a military operation against the Islamic State terrorist group (which is banned in Russia) in the Syrian territory at the request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on September 30. The air group in Syria includes more than 50 warplanes, including Su-34 and Su-24M bombers; Su-25 assault aircraft; Su-30SM fighter jets as well as Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters. The Russian Navy is also involved in the military operation. The warships of the Russian Caspian flotilla delivered a massive cruise missile strike from the Kalibr-class sea-based missile system on the night to October 7.

The Russian authorities have totally excluded a possibility of any ground campaign in Syria.